By Howard Reich
Released in 2010 and first broadcast on PBS in 2011, “Prisoner of Her Past” continues to reach audiences around the world.
A few weeks ago, WTTW-Ch. 11 – Chicago’s PBS station – presented its 13th annual broadcast in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day. The film has become an integral part of the city’s annual commemorations.
Howard continues to tour the country with the film.
On Sept. 27, he’ll bring “Prisoner of Her Past” to the Charleston Library Society, the South’s oldest cultural institution. Last year, Howard and Gordon Quinn – who directed “Prisoner of Her Past” – showed “For the Left Hand” at CLS (Gordon directed that film with Leslie Simmer).
And on Oct. 25, Howard will bring “Prisoner of Her Past” to Oakland University in Michigan, where Howard spoke in 2020 about his book “The Art of Inventing Hope: Intimate Conversations with Elie Wiesel.”
“Prisoner of Her Past” continues to stream on Google Play and iTunes.
To paraphrase legendary jazz trumpeter Clark Terry, the film “keeps on keepin’ on.”
Why?
That’s open to interpretation, but surely one reason stands out: Children around the world continue to suffer traumas like the ones endured by Sonia Reich, the film’s subject and Howard’s mother (who recently turned 92!).
So long as children are victims of genocide, “Prisoner of Her Past” will have a tragically timely story to tell.